25 Taiwanese given two-year jail terms in Thailand

Bangkok, Twenty-five Taiwanese have been sentenced to two-year jail terms in Thailand for cross-border telecommunication fraud targeting people in China.

Their sentences were reduced from four years by the local court of Samut Prakan Province on Aug. 8 on grounds that they all confessed to committing the crime.

The 25 Taiwanese, along with 19 Chinese, were arrested by Thai police in the province in July 2017 on a tip-off provided by China's public security authorities.

While the 19 Chinese suspects were deported back to China, the 25 Taiwanese were detained at a local prison to await court hearings.

During that process, China demanded that the Taiwanese defendants be repatriated to China, arguing that the victims of their fraudulent schemes were Chinese nationals, but Thai authorities did not give in to China's request.

After serving out their sentences in Thailand, the 25 will be sent back to Taiwan and face criminal charges there in line with Taiwan's law.

Due to repeated international fraud cases involving Taiwanese, Taiwan has amended its law three times since 2014, pushing jail terms up to seven years for people convicted of aggravated fraud.